With a 77 per cent score on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s fair to say Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was a divisive offering for hardcore fans of the much-loved franchise.
All set for broadcast on Channel 4’s E4 this Good Friday (April 18), the 2008 film is the fourth instalment of the series and sees the return of Harrison Ford as everyone’s beloved Indy. The action adventure film was directed by Steven Spielberg and its screenplay was written by David Koepp. There was a 19-year gap between the release of Last Crusade and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, skyrocketing the expectations from the latter.
Set in 1957, the film sees Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) confront a group of Soviet KGB agents, under the command of the ruthless Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett), as they race to uncover a telepathic crystal skull hidden in Peru.
Joining him on this perilous journey are his former lover, Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), and their son, Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf). The ensemble cast also features Ray Winstone, John Hurt, and Jim Broadbent in supporting roles.
Introducing sci-fi extra-terrestrial elements to the franchise was perhaps the reason for its mixed reception, with one review that said: “I think a lot of audience members like me found it unconvincing with its story and presentation. A mysterious crystal skull that has some strange powers. Intriguing, but when the answer is “aliens”, I think the audience finds a sci-fi explanation a cop out compared to say the more religious artefacts of the other movies that have more “magic and awe” compared to space beings.”
Some found the movie to be a whole load of nothing, as one critic wrote: “There’s plenty going on in this movie, with one or two tremendous stunts and some very nasty giant ants. But despite the genuine excitement, and one blinding flash of the old genius, this new Indy film looks like it’s going through the motions.
“This film doesn’t trash our treasured memories, but it doesn’t add anything either. In fact, it seems like a very, very long extra ending.”
Others felt people were being too harsh on the fourth Indy: “I just rewatched all the films and I gotta say Crystal Skull is really good. Aside from the fridge scene and the vine swinging, I’m hard-pressed to come up with a single thing I didn’t love about it. I’ve never understood the fan-hate for this movie. It’s one of the few films I agree with critics over the audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.”
One viewer thought it “didn’t feel like an Indiana Jones movie, it felt like an imitation of an Indiana Jones movie”, while another audience review said: “It’s my favourite Indy movie.”
The film had its premiere at the 61st Cannes Film Festival on May 18, 2008, and was released theatrically in the US on May 22 to roaring success. Grossing over $786 million (£617 mil) worldwide, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is the five-part series’ highest-grossing instalment and was also the second-highest-grossing film of 2008, hot on the heels of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight.
A fifth Indy movie, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, released in 2023, starring Harrison Ford, John Rhys-Davies, and Karen Allen from the original cast, along with welcome additions Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, Toby Jones, Boyd Holbrook, Ethann Isidore, and Mads Mikkelsen.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull will be broadcast on Channel 4’s E4 on Good Friday, April 18, at 9pm.
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